Mattress



Dec. 10, 1940. J. R. JOHNSON MATTRESS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 2, 1939 INVENTOR, I

ATTORNEY Deg. 10, 1940. J. R. JOHNSON 2,224,301

MATTRESS Filed Feb. 2; 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY x ATTORNEY i a AIN\'IENTOR, M

Dec. 10,1940. J. R. JOHNSON 2,224,3 1

MATTRESS Filed Feb. 2, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 V ILNVENTOR fl BY M ATTQEQNEY,

Patented Dec. 10, 1940 UNIT ED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

MATTRESS Application February 2, 1939', Serial No. 254,147

- 6 Claims.

My invention relates to mattresses embodying an exterior casing surrounding a resilient core or the like; and objects of my invention are to provide handles which are anchored to the core of the mattress, as distinguished from the boxing or other elements of the casing; to provide means for the ready and secure attachment of the handles to the core after the core and the casing have been assembled; to provide means whereby the drag of the handles upon the core is diffused so as to avoid localizing it to the injury of the core; and to secure the other desirable results hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a complete mattress with handles attached; Fig. 2' is a cross section as on line 2--2 of Fig. 1 showing a method for attaching one end of a handle to the core; Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly broken away for clearness, taken as looking down on Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same partly broken away to-show the interior construction; Fig. 5is a perspective View of an anchoring element to be fastened on the core; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an anchor grasping member adapted to be attached to the end of a handle; Fig. 7 is a view similar in position to Fig. 3 but showing a modified method of attaching the handle to the core; Fig. 8 shows a modified form of core anchor; Fig. 9 shows a modified form of anchor engaging means; Fig. 10 shows the anchor and the engaging means operatively' assembled with a handle; Fig. 11 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the connection between the modified handle and the core; and Fig. 12 is a ,view, similar in cross section to Fig. 2, illustrating the modified form of connection, of Figs. 7 to 11, between the handle and the core; Fig. 13 is a view similar in position to Figs. 3 and 'l', but show ng a modified form of core engaging element; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a core engaging snap hook; Fig. 15 is a View similar in position to Figs. 4 and, 11 showing. the application of the snap hook connection; Fig. 16 is a view, similar in cross section to Figs. 2 and 12,

a further illustrating the application of the snap hook connection; Figs. 17 and 18 are perspective views of fastenings suitable for substitution for the anchor engaging hook of Fig. 6; Fig. 19 is a perspective view, partly in section, illustrating a modified method of connecting the handle strap with the anchor of Fig. 5; Figs. 20 and 21, 22 and 23 illustrate successive steps in attaching the handle strap to the anchor of Fig. 5; Fig. 24 is a view, partly in cross section. of the. handle. strap attached to the anchor, medial portions of.

the view being omitted to save space; Fig. 25 is a perspective view of the bar for locking the strap handle of Figs. 19 to 24; Figs. 26 and 27 show tools suitablefor looping the end of the strap handle around the anchor.

Figs. 2, 3, 4, '7 to 13, 15, and 16 to 24 are on an enlarged scale. Figs. 5 and 6 are on a further enlarged scale; and- Figs. 26 and 27 are on a reduced scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in all the figures.

In mattresses wherein a spring core is inclosed within a textile casing, if the mattress is grasped by the casing or ticking for'the purpose of handling it, the proper relation between the casing and the core is apt to be disturbed because the core is usually more or less loose or free within the casing, which will tend to pull away from the core at the points where the casing is grasped in handling the mattress. Furthermore, the outer facing of the casing of such a mattress is apt to be made of more or less ornamental'and light weight fabric, and it is not adapted to endure satisfactorily the stresses of handling. Whereas if the strains of handling are applied directly to the core, it will carry with it the casing, without placing serious or destructive strains on the casing itself. .An important class of cored mattresses is made by first assembling a spring core as a completed unit; then making a casing completely closed except at a point sufficiently large to permit the insertion of the core, after which the casing is finally closed. Such casings are usually made With one end seam left open between finished corners; and the core is then bent or folded on itself so as to permit its insertion through the open seam, after which the core is allowed to spread out within the casing and the end seam is closed.

It is obvious that after the core has been put in the casing it is difiicult to reach into the casing and attach exterior handles directly to the core; as the core fits the casing snugly, and the distance from its ends to the desirable position of the more remote handles'is such that the workman cannot. reach in with his hands and manipulate the attachment of' the handles.

Consequently it becomes desirable to fasten the handles directly to the core after it has been put inside of the casing, and, in usual practice, the casing closed.

To accomplish this I provide the core, prior to its insertion, with suitable anchoring elements; and I provide in the boxing of the mattress small openings, registering with the anchoring ele- 5, 5 interconnected with each other, as by clasps 6, and surrounded by marginal wires 1, I so as to form a unitary structure.

Preferably the springs are surrounded by padding 8 covering the ends of the springs and the.

surrounding marginal'wires, so as to cushion the metal springs above and below and the surrounding wires. These surrounding wires l, 1 form the preferential element for carrying the strain of the handles although the anchors may be made to grasp both a spring and the marginal wire as shown in Figs. 2 and 12, if the position of the spring renders that convenient.

This padding may be pushed away from the marginal wire, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, so that the handle may engage directly with the wire; or an anchor element may be clamped into or through the padding as shown in Figs. 2, 12 and 24, so as to embrace both padding and wire. I have found this latter construction the more satisfactory, as it gives a cushioned or yielding engagement between the anchor and the Wire, making the strain on the wire less rigid and direct than when the metal of the anchor and the metal of the wire are in contact and the strain is localized where the two metal elements cross each other, which tends to bend or distort the wire more readily than when the engagement is cushioned. It also eliminates noise from friction between the anchor and the wire. In the sides of the boxing I form small openings 9, 9, preferably rimmed by suitable gromets Ill, l large enough to permit the anchor engaging elements to be passed through them; and these openings are made to register approximately with the anchorage points on the core. In Figs. 13 to 16 these openings are only large enough to permit the insertion through them of the snap hook l2 of Fig. 14 or the closed end of the anchor l3 of Figs. 7 to 12, which protrudes outwardly through the opening.

I have found it to be preferable to spread, ,as well as cushion, the grip of the anchor upon the core as by using the anchor I4 shown in Figs. 2 to and 19 to 24 of the drawings. This anchor is attached to the core, preferably, by passing its hooked ends through the padding and around the marginal wire, and then closing the hooks together so as to firmly secure the anchor in place. A strap handle l5 may be secured to the anchor by looping the strap around the bar I6 of the fastener H, the ends of which are turned back into hooks l8, H! which may be made to straddle and embrace the anchor bar, after which the ends of the hooks may be bent down by the jaws of a plier inserted through the hole in the boxing. Modified forms of the attaching element I! are shown in Figs. 17 and 18.

A method of attaching the end of the handle strap l5 to the anchor I 4 is shown in Figs. 19 to 24, wherein the looped end of the strap is inserted through an elongated, grometed hole in the boxing, and is passed down behind the bar of the anchor l4 and drawn back through the hole in the boxing. A wedge bar 20 is then slipped into the loop in the end of the strap, and the body of the strap is then pulled taut so as to crowd the loop with the wedge bar within it into the opening within the gromet in which it will j am, as shown in Figs. 23 and 24, because the hole in the gromet is not wide enough to permit the looped end of the strap with the bar to be drawn through the hole. This method of attaching the handle has the advantage that the whole width of the strap surrounds the bar of the anchor l4, and by the use of the wedge bar 20 the strap is prevented from wrinkling or from moving laterally in the gromet so that its connection with the anchor 14 might be disarranged. It should be understood that both ends of the handle are fastened in similar ways, and so that the strap shall be fairly taut and lie evently against the outer face of the boxing. One end of the handle having been attached pressure can be placed upon the edge of the mattress to force the springs together and thereby obtain suflicient slack for the other end of the handle to be inserted through the boxing and fastened to the anchor, after which the release of the spring will take up the slack in the handle.

The tool shown in Fig. 26 has a flattened shank 23 with a blunt, bent over end 24, which can be usedconveniently, as illustrated in Figs. 20 and 21, for pushing the end of the handle strap around the bar of the anchor l4; and the tool shown in Fig. 27 has a hooked end 25, which can be inserted under the strap through the gromet and used to draw the looped end of the strap out through the gromet so that the wedge bar 20 may be inserted in the loop. While this arrangement results in drawing the boxing snugly against the padding of the mattress edge, the strain on the handle in use is carried by the core; for the pressing of the boxing snugly against the padding of the core will put no objectionable or serious strain upon the boxing and the boxing and the core will not be distorted.

In the method illustrated in Figs. 7 to 12 the ends of the anchor l3 are clamped in place through the core padding and behind the marginal wire. And when the loop of the anchor is passed out through the hole in the boxing the ring'26 is passed through the loop and the ring is closed as shown in Fig. 10.

By the use of my improvements I obtain a mattress which is provided with handles securely attached to it by being anchored to the core, so that strains of the handles when in use will be upon the core and not upon the boxing or casing of the mattress, the handles being readily and securely attachable after the casing and core have been assembled and the casing closed, and the handles being readily detachable and attachable without disturbing or opening the casing.

I wish it'to be understood that the forms of embodiment of my invention which I have illustrated are to be considered as typical and not as exclusive forms, for details of construction may be modified as by the use of equivalents without departing from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The combination in a mattress of a unitary, spring core, provided with marginal top and bottom wires, padding covering said wires, handle anchorages engaging over and through said padding around said wires, a closed casing completely surrounding said core and provided with restricted openings therethrough, and a handle element provided with terminals severally entering said openings from without and operatively engaging with said anchorages of said core.

2. The combination in a mattress of a unitary, spring core, provided with marginal top and bottom wires, padding covering said wires, extended handle anchorages each engaging over and through said padding around said wires at two points, a closed casing completely surrounding said core and provided with restricted openings therethrough, and a handle element provided with terminals severally entering said openings from without and operatively engaging with said anchorages of said core.

3. The combination in a mattress of a unitary, spring core, provided with marginal top and bottom wires, padding covering said wires, laterally extended handle anchorages each engaging over and through said padding around said wires, a closed casing completely surrounding said core and provided with restricted openings therethrough, and a strap handle element provided with looped ends severally entering said openings from without and operatively engaging around said anchorages of said core.

4. The combination in a mattress of a unitary, spring core, provided with marginal top and bottom wires, padding covering said wires, laterally extended handle anchorages each engaging over and through said padding around said wires, a closed casing completely surrounding said core and provided with elongated and grometed restricted openings therethrough, and a strap handle element provided with looped ends severally entering said openings from without and operatively engaging around said anchorages of said core and out through said grometed openings, and means for preventing the retraction of said looped ends through the gromets.

5. The combination in a mattress of a unitary, spring core, provided with marginal top and bottom wires, padding covering said wires, extended handle anchorages each engaging over and through said padding around said wires, a closed casing completely surrounding said core and provided with elongated and grometed restricted openings therethrough, and a strap handle element provided with looped ends severally entering said openings from without and operatively engaging around said anchorages of said core and out through said grometed openings, and means for locking said looped ends in said gromets.

6. The combination in a mattress of a unitary,

spring core, provided with marginal top and bottom wires, padding covering said wires, laterally extended handle anchorages each engaging over and through said padding around said wires, a closed casing completely surrounding said core and provided with elongated and grometed restricted openings therethrough, and a strap handle element provided with looped ends severally entering said openings from without and operatively engaging around said anchorages of said core and out through said grometed openings, and means embodying a wedge bar within each looped end for locking said looped ends in said gromets.

JAMES REID JOHNSON. 

